Several outfits in Kerala’s Idukki district called for a shutdown on Tuesday to demand that the government take steps to protect people and their farms from wild animals.
The hartal call, backed by the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF), was given after a herd of elephants that had been in the vicinity, attacked a house near Munnar on Sunday.
“We have been protesting for several days and even met forest minister AK Saseendran. Soon personnel of Rapid Response Teams were pressed into service and they drove elephants to the forest but they are coming back with vengeance. How can we live like this? We need a permanent solution,” said Peruvanthanam panchayat president Domina Saji.
In Munnar, a wandering tusker, locally known as Arikomban, which often strays into human habitat in search of grains, attacked a house on Sunday night, local people said.
“We need forests and we also love wild animals, but human lives also matter. Many villages in Idukki, Wayanad and Palakkad districts are at the mercy of these animals. Many farmers are on the verge of suicide due to crop loss,” said Kerala Independent Farmers’ Association president O Alex.
In January this year, two animal attack fatalities were reported in the state_
A farmer died in a tiger attack in north Kerala’s Wayanad district on January 12 while a forest watcher was killed in an elephant attack in Idukki on January 25. Two wild elephants and a tiger were tranquillised and captured in Wayanad and Palakkad districts.
Forest minister Saseendran’s recent assurance at an all-party meeting in Wayanad that the government will “explore all options including culling of wild animals” to reduce wildlife incursions into human habitats led to loud protests by environmentalists and wildlife enthusiasts.
